Alex Garfield lives in Washington, D.C., so she has to deal with the same issues that all of us face. What a bore that is! Corruption, bad roads, inefficient transportation systems, lack of electricity, to name but a few.

So let’s start with the corruption in our mayor’s office. Several people very close Mayor Vincent Gray have been convicted and indicted for corruption for illegal fundraising. Most feel that there is no way the Mayor didn’t know. Several of his own party members on the DC Council have called for him to resign. Mayor Gray has refused.

Perhaps the call for his resignation should become spread wider and include such issues as competency to run a city. Debris from the storm that knocked out power here three weeks ago still lingers in our streets. Downed lines and trees litter the edge of roads. And the repair seems to be on hold since there are no signs of removal of the trees or fixing of the downed lines.

And as many residents call it, The People’s Republic of Colombia, is more like a fourth world capital than the capital of the free world. Try driving in this city! The potholes will get you straight through the Earth to China because they are so deep. In Barnesville, Maryland, a small town of 100 people, the local government filled potholes within a week of occurring. In D.C., we have potholes that have been here for at least six months. When I lived in Cairo, the roads were repaired more efficiently than here and it is a city known for inefficiency and has 14 million people living in it.

The metro system is another inefficiency. On a regular basis, lines fail or are closed for repair. If I had to rely on the metro to get somewhere every day, my life expectancy would be shortened greatly from the frustration. Even when the electricity is working, it will suddenly, inexplicably have a failure such as it did this week. (And Metro has yet to tell the public why the computers lost track of several trains and had to be shut down.)

D.C. deserves a working government and should be a beacon to the world of what America can be. Instead, it is an embarrassment. How can it be fixed? Perhaps that should be the basis of a study for some industrious graduate students who have an interest in promoting sound government and efficient management.

In the meanwhile, I suggest that all D.C. residents consider moving to Maryland or Virginia where things are much more efficient – and the taxes are lower and the services are better!